Did Deepti Sharma’s position cost India the match?

It was England who lifted the cup of ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup for the fourth time when they snatched the victory from the hands of India in the final 10 overs. Indian team played very well but the one question that is haunting every Indian fan is that why Deepti was sent so late to bat despite the pressure in the match.
The quality of cricket she played can be determined by the fact that she is in the ‘Team of the tournament’. Everyone knows that Deepti is very good with the ball but most importantly she has the ability to score big runs when given chance. She is just 19 years old but the quality of cricket by her is quite mature. Let’s first look at some stats.

Whenever Deepti Sharma came to bat in the upper order(opening or no. 3,4,5), she scored 912 runs in 24 matches with an average of 45.60 with one hundred to her name. She has played 30 matches in her career. So in 6 matches, she came to bat in the lower order. During these matches, she scored only 44 runs. These stats are enough to show you that she plays better at no. 3,4 and 5.
Now the ultimate question is that ‘Was Mithali’s decision to send Deepti so late, the reason behind the defeat?’ One reason I can think of behind this strategy is that she is too young to handle that kind of pressure and on one point when India was looking good at 191/3, it could have been a wise decision but when India lost the wicket of Poonam Raut, that was the crucial point. At that point, Deepti Sharma would have been the best choice because she has played in similar conditions and she would have handled the pressure but Mithali sent Sushma Verma and she got out on the second ball and from a winning position, India lost the match, thanks to these two quick wickets. Even when the team was struggling, Deepti was playing very well but she needed some time to set down. She might have scored only 14 runs but if you watched the match you will know that scoring under that pressure against an in-form bowler was very tough because one billion people’s hopes were on the shoulders of a 19-year-old girl.

She scored only 14 runs but if you watched the match you will know that scoring under that pressure against an in-form bowler was very tough because one billion people’s hopes were on the shoulders of a 19-year-old girl.
At the end, we should appreciate that our team played very good cricket and with these acts, they have earned the respect of the whole country.